Facebook hires Gibson Dunn partner as deputy GC

Facebook announced on Sept. 26 that it has hired a former Gibson Dunn partner as deputy general counsel.

Ashlie Beringer will replace the former deputy GC, Colin Stretch, who was promoted to Facebook’s top legal role.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Ashlie to Facebook,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “We have always been impressed with her toughness and commitment to innovation on behalf of her clients, and look forward to having her on our team.”

At Facebook, Beringer will oversee the legal department’s litigation, regulatory and product groups. And she’s well prepared for the role. She spent eight years at Gibson Dunn representing clients one both technology and media matters. One of her more notable cases was representing Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne in several contract disputes related to their MTV show, The Osbournes. Beringer even shows up in Sharon’s memoir, in which the entertainer opines, “Ashlie Beringer has got balls of steel.”

“Ms. Beringer has extensive experience defending companies in high stakes technology and intellectual property disputes, with particular expertise representing clients in the technology, media, Internet, and entertainment industries,” Facebook told TechCrunch. “She has successfully represented clients in numerous consumer and regulatory actions relating to online and mobile technologies and data privacy and security issues. In addition, Ms. Beringer has successfully defended clients throughout the country in complex patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets disputes, including several disputes involving digital technologies, gaming and application platforms, and online and mobile advertising and e- commerce networks.”